KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said today that his business, which was raided by federal authorities Monday, has done nothing wrong and said "the last thing I want to do'' is put a blemish on Cleveland or the Browns.

Haslam met with reporters at his headquarters at the Pilot Flying J in Knoxville, where he said that he believed the federal investigation centers on a small group of trucking company customers that were owed rebates that were never paid. The news conference can be seen on the WBIR web site.

"We, of course, disagree,'' he said.

He explained the rebate system like this: If a trucking company buys 50,000 gallons of gas from Pilot Flying J, it would receive so much of a rebate from Haslam's business. If it buys 100,000 gallons, it would receive another amount. Pilot Flying J deals with 3,300 companies. He said he was unsure how much money was in question.

He did not have any idea of the number of customers involved in the probe, saying "we believe it to be a low number.'' He also said the rebate issue has not come up before. He said no stores were affected by the raids.

Haslam acknowledged the raid was part of a criminal investigation.

On Monday, FBI and IRS agents raided Haslam's business, seizing records and documents. U.S. Attorney Bill Killian told The Plain Dealer today that agents executed four search warrants -- three yesterday and one last night. He called the case "an ongoing investigation,'' though he would not discuss any details.

Haslam said several sales people in his company had received subpoenas, though he himself was not subpoenaed. He said he is unsure why IRS agents were involved in the raid, and he said he believes there are no tax implications.

He said he wants the focus this week to be on the Browns first minicamp practices and the NFL draft next week.

Haslam said he spoke with Browns management about the situation and said he will be in Cleveland later in the week, as previously planned.

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy HaslamLynn Ischay, The Plain Dealer

He said his company is doing an internal audit, in addition to the federal investigation. He said he is unsure how long the federal investigation will take, but he is prepared for it to take a long time. Haslam stressed that the company is cooperating with the investigation.

In a statement released before the press conference, Pilot Flying J provided reporters with a series of questions and answers about the investigation. The statement offered little new information, but it did raise the issue of whether the investigation is politically motivated.

The headquarters of Pilot Flying J, a nationwide chain of truck stops and convenience stores, was locked down for much of the day.

In a statement released this afternoon, Pilot Flying J said several
subpoenas also were served, though it did not disclose with whom the
documents were filed.

The release said the investigation appears "to revolve around the
application of rebates to a small group of Pilot Flying J trucking
company customers.'' The statement does not go into greater detail. The
release said the company is cooperating with authorities, and it is
conducting its own investigation.

The release, in a question-and-answer format, asked: "Are the feds
targeting any executives?'' The answer was simple: "Not to our
knowledge.''

Earlier in the afternoon, the Knoxville News Sentinel
reported on its website that the entrance to the travel center
operator's headquarters was blocked, media were barred from entering the
campus and employees were being escorted off the campus.

A company spokeswoman told The Plain Dealer that the FBI arrived "sometime after lunch" but that no one knew why.

Knoxville television station WBIR-TV
reported that FBI agents refused to allow traffic to enter the
headquarters grounds, wouldn't answer questions and told their reporters
to leave.

Pilot was founded in 1958 by Jim Haslam. His son, Jimmy,
runs a business often described as one of the largest private companies
in America. Gov. Bill Haslam, another son, resigned from the company to become mayor of Knoxville and is now governor of Tennessee.

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